Buy 2011 Kitten Von Mew Pin-up Calender from Rag and Magpie.

Early in the week we awoke at the crack of dawn to take in East village. The area is much talked about and comes up with big listings of vintage stores and thrift stores in web searches. Despite our overly pedantic printed map with markers for all the store we found it difficult to track down listings which were not closed, still existed, or hadn’t moved location. Arriving early in East village will not help you with a shopping spree as most of the stores don’t open until around midday. To pass the morning we grabbed lunch and a much needed iced coffee to out-ride the overwhelming heat and sat in the nearby Tompkins Square Park. This was the first time we witnessed the dog-friendly New York culture. As Londoners yearning for but unable to look after pets in a small third floor flat, it was lovely to see the array of dogs and their owners in one of the NY’s many dog runs and see how well looked after they are throughout the city.

After yet more iced coffee our rummage started in Angela’s boutique, a haven for the more practices vintage enthusiast, they stocked a vast selection if feminine and lacy vintage pieces from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. You won’t find generic thrift here, this the place to go if you have a bigger budget and need a head-turning vintage gown. As it happened I fell in love with several pairs of out-of-my-budget original 1940s lace-up shoes… alas I had to leave them. Boohoo.

It’s not really my bag but if you like TKMaxx or London’s MVE stores visit The Buffalo Exchange for a floor filled with second hand and overstock clothes and accessories. They do stock retro but you will find equal amounts of almost new high-street stuff too.

If you’re a fixer of old things like me you’ll love Archangel Antiques, they specialize in vintage buttons, cuff-links and tie pins and believe me they’ll tell you about it; the friendly owners are very chatty but helpful. You’ll find no end of beautiful buttons here to help recycle your clothes.

Moving on we trawled the nearby streets for other vintage stores, there are many but you’ll have to catch them when they’re open, there’s a selection below although walking in the St Marks Place – East 11th Street area you’ll also come across others we didn’t venture into. We ended the day with delicious stuffed pancakes and peach Bellinis in the lovely Crooked Tree crêperie. Recommended.

If you’ve got something to add about East Village since our visit please leave a comment or email us.

• Angela’s Vintage Boutique, 330 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003-7423
• Archangel antiques, 334 East 9th Street, nyc, NY 10003
• Buffalo Exchange, 332 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003
• Circa Now, 238 East 6th Street, New York, NY 10003-8237
• O Mistress Mine, 320 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003
• Tokyo Joe Inc, 334 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003-7426
• The Crooked Tree, 110 St Marks Place, NY 10009
  

Upstairs was a haven of calm in comparison, rails were orgainized and abundant with the best quality non-reduced items and tables were decorated with neat piles of balled up belts and scarves. By the end the small cobbled ally outside was strewn with  students and fashionistas. Between the three of us we bagged eight pieces of clothing, among which were my three bargainous dresses; a rather 60’s red and black two tone dress which on me somehow looks rather nore fourties, a red and white (almost gingham) full skirted shirt dress and an adorable blue and white dress, nautical with polka-dots and ahem…go go gadget shoulderpads!!

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On Sunday morning we had much needed iced coffee and pumpkin muffins a cute breakfast place on the corner of 7th Avenue and 5th Street whilst watching vendors setting up for the weekly PS 321 Flea Market. This Park Slope flea market was our first taste of New York flea marketeering and with a good result. There was about 20 stands when we hit the stalls, displaying a decent mix of vintage homeware, furniture, second hand jewellery, collectables, vintage clothing and generic flea market tat. By the Second stall I had already bagged myself a gorgeous and perfectly fitting original 1960’s turquoise hounds-tooth dress. Although small this market is well worth a visit.

On the walk north from we crossed paths with a lot of cute looking antique and collectible stores including the curiously named Under The Pig , alas due to it being before noon on a Sunday, most of them were closed. We hung around for a while until the opening of Bob & Judi’s Collectibles, this narrow store has an good eclectic mix of vintage and retro homeware, collectible and jewellery. Although we fell for much of the kitchenware our luggage allowance was limiting, I left with a gorgeous ‘clay look’ floral rockabilly hair comb for under $4.

The walk up Fifth Avenue led us to then Guvnor’s and Odd Twin, I was in my element. Govnor’s is a vast cavernous room with rails and rails of vintage attire; playsuit on the fist rack followed by dresses, then shirts and so on. The store is divided roughly down the centre into menswear and womenswear whilst accessories are strewn in abundance. Perhaps most impressive was the round rail filled with vintage swimwear. I left with what is now my cherished grey and blue pussy-bow cotton house dress which ominously fastens at the back with just three poppers but is nonetheless adorable.

On the other hand, almost next door Odd Twin (pictured left) was tunnel like room but also divided centrally into mens and womenswear with well attended fitting rooms at the end. Homeware is arranged neatly near the entrance and nestled on giant overhead shelves. The vintage period outfits here appear to have been much more selectively sourced that the average vintage store with a good range from throughout the decades. Granted the fitting room attendant is a little ‘hard sell’ but friendly, as were all the staff. The clothes are neatly organised and the store is clean and free of musty vintage smells allowing for pleasant unfettered shopping. In essence this is a vintage store for the novice and well practiced enthusiast.

Do you have more to say about any of the places featured here or places in Park Slope we have not mentioned? Please do share…

• Bob & Judi’s Collectibles, 217 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215-1256, United States
• Guvnor’s Vintage Thrift, 178 Fifth Avenue, (Between Sackett St & Degraw St), Brooklyn, NY 11217
  
• Odd Twin, 164 5th Ave, (between Douglass St & Degraw St), Brooklyn, NY 11217
• PS 321 Flea Market, 180 7th Avenue,Brooklyn, NY 11215-2609, United States. Saturdays and Sundays 8am-6pm.
• Under the Pig Antiques & Collectibles, 355 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215-2827, United States

We knew when leaving England that a week would be a minuscule time to fully explore New York so had to plan in detail the places we wanted to visit most as decided by search engine, recommendation and general knowledge. We wrote a day-by-day plan of eating, shopping and walking throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

In the end we didn’t have time for everything; we had to narrow down the more obvious tourist things to a trip to Central Park and a visit to Fire Island beach. We were staying at a friends’ appartment in Williamsburg which lent us access to Brooklyn’s best veggie food places, heaps of local vintage shops, a handful of flea markets and yard sales and a great view of the city across the East River. On two occassions we took the subway down to Park Slope just East of Downtown Brooklyn where we had found some vintage stores online. By the end of the week we had bought 17 vintage dresses between us, among other things. It is obvious we had a blast.

Check back later this week for a breakdown of the best eats, markets and vintage shopping we found in Williamsburg, Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan.

These pin-up calenders will be available soon from www.queenib.com.

First you must pick your era. Each era had different signature details, cuts, icons and accessories which defined it.

High waisted

Throughout history high-waited men’s trousers were often worn with braces, although this also looks fab on women for an androgynous look. Between the 1940s and the 1960s women usually sported a high-waisted skirt or dress, although the length and cut varied depending on the decade. During the 1970s high-waisted wide-legged or flared trousers were popular with men and women.

Drop waist

If  the 1920s and 1930s is the era for you be sure to go for the tell-tale ‘flapper’ style drop waistline.  In the 1920s waistlines were very low on thr hip and hems always below the knee.

Cardigans

Cardigans were one of the most iconic items of the 1950s and were much more elaborate than today’s counterpart. If you want to add a vintage touch to your outfit this is the way to go, in the 1950s dresses and tops were often short sleeved so cardigans were a must-have. Avoid anything baggy as cardigans were shaped to flatter the curves and often had detailed knits including lace knits, patterns, bead-work and ornate buttons.

Twin Sets

You’ve heard of ‘twinset and pearls’ right? But what is a twinset exactly? A twinset is a close-fitting sleeveless knitted sweater (jumper to us English folk) with a matching cardigan. You may have seen images of these being worn by 1950s housewives and will certainly remeber one worn by Olivia Newton John in Grease.

Accessorise your head!

Prior to the 1960s head-gear was matter of fact. Men usually wore or carried a hat be it bowler, tweed cap, triby or other. Women’s hear-wear changed more dramatically over the decades but they usually wore a head accessory of some kind, even when swimming!

In 1920s it was the cloche hat and the head-band (the kind that goes around your forehead not an Alice band) that defined the era, in the 1940s and 1950s it was all about hats to compliment elaborate hairstyles, although in the 50s they were slightly smaller. The 1950s also saw the rise of the headscarf as worn by Audry Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, followed by the Pillbox hat in the 1960s remembered most notably for being work lots by Jackie Onassis, the extra-wide headband (*Alice band) was also big news.

Learn more about 4.2morrow in The Queeni-B Boutique Guide to Indie Fashion

That’s another question entirely, and more accurately should be why do people wear it? Because they do, and lots. In fact vintage fashion has become a large and growing movement over the last ten years. It’s a leap from when  I was a child (in the 80s) and it was considered undesirable to wear second-hand things. The perception of  vintage has done a 180.

Some reasons I wear and love vintage clothing are that they hold more value in mind than today’s disposable items; back in the 1940s things were build to last, this is proven by them outliving their previous owners, whereas half the things I have bought in the last five years have already broken. Prior to designer Mary Quant instigating mass-produced ready-to-wear fashion in the late 1950s clothing was on the most part custom made. This suggests that more care and attention was used in their production and why now they are more cherished than their modern counterparts.

Another reason I wear vintage, and I’m sure this applies to all you vintage enthusiasts out there, is because of the imagery… the feel of a particular era. For example, let’s take the 1940s; an era when women were both sex symbols and began embracing masculine roles and fashions. When you imagine a women from the 1940s, she is most likely clad a pencil skirt with a glamorous coiffure… she is aspirational, a classic beauty and today’s vintage enthusiasts want to be her. Wearing vintage and vintage inspired clothing and accessories is a way of embracing the glamour of past decades.

Another reason I wear vintage is more ethical. I want to wear items which already exist and will last, things that I can cherish. I don’t want vast amounts of clothing what will end up in a landfill after a few years. I’ll not go into this too much but if you want to read more about it you can check out our ethical policy.

There is a longer list of reasons including  ‘because of it previously belonged to’, ‘because of where I found it’ or because it makes me feel beautiful …

I want to hear why others love vintage, so if your an enthusiast tell us why.

Now admittedly, I’m no girl (although that’s arguable in certain situations!). But I can appreciate style and kitsch clothing like the rest of them; hell who hasn’t worn tights before right? Even builders wear them under their jeans in the winter to keep warm (a builder told me this! It was a typically random conversation in the world of DJ Heathen).

So I present to you printed tights by Les Queues De Sardines who produce an array of beautifully designed leg apparel worthy of any fan of retro and vintage clothing. Current season styles include a beautiful pair of nautical tattoo inspired tights with past seasons covering everything from tights depending on the weather outside to geometric patterns and funky cute monster-ish type designs.

Personally, I find their offerings to be a perfect amalgamation of retro/vintage with elegance and a dash of style. Lets face it, they beat the usual selection of tights in your local favourite clothing store hands down (or should that be feet down) yes?

As usual of course, they are not the easiest to get hold of. They are only available from one shop in England and lucky enough for you Londinium folks, you’re not too far away from it! Head down to Luna And Curious at 198 Brick Lane, London.

If you would like more information or to see the full range available by Les Queues De Sardines then check them out on their Website